A rock of crack cocaine the size of a pencil eraser costs $40 to $50 in the north country. In Syracuse it can be had for half that amount. In New York City? Fuggedaboutit. $5 a rock.

That difference in price provides an incentive for dealers to travel north to peddle their wares.

Prescription pills like hydrocodone go for $5 to $10 apiece in the north country, depending on the dosage, Chris said. Strangely enough, the price of marijuana has increased. At $200 to $250 an ounce, it’s “quite expensive,” Chris said.

Meth is a little bit harder to come across for the casual shopper. It’s mostly cooked in makeshift labs by hardcore users who then sell it to a small circle of friends, Chris said.

The story of the marijuana market — a business that thrived on the street for decades before developing the market sophistication to lead to a commodity crash in brick-and-mortar stores — is one of the most interesting economic stories of our lifetimes.

Three things help our chemistry teacher turn an insight into a flourishing business. The first is huge ambition. He is not in the “meth business” or the “money business”, he says. He is in the “empire business”. The second is product obsession. Other dealers might peddle “Mexican shoe-scrapings” on the ground that addicts care little about quality. He produces the king of meth, so pure that it turns blue, and would rather destroy an entire batch than let an inferior product be traded under his brand. The third is partnerships and alliances. He spots talent in a former pupil turned drug-dealer, Jesse Pinkman, and forms a strong working relationship with him. He also contracts distribution to a succession of local gangs so that he can concentrate on the higher-value-added part of the business: cooking and quality control.

I think they’re overlooking the fact that Walt was selling a product that is so addictive it destroys the lives of its users and compels them to do deplorable things for a taste.

We’re not talking about widgets.

Yeah, okay, Walt had the big picture in mind and could recognize relationships that could help him get ahead, but don’t forget that the guy was selling meth.

Tide bottles have become ad hoc street currency, with a 150-ounce bottle going for either $5 cash or $10 worth of weed or crack cocaine. On certain corners, the detergent has earned a new nickname: “Liquid gold.”

Glazer begs off. This is Aykroyd’s baby. He’s an Emmy winner, the author of many or most of his best S.N.L. skits. There’s just one catch, production-wise. This runaway train hinges on a screenwriter who has never in his life written or even read a screenplay.

I always thought the problem was ME – that I was the reason I never liked this movie.

California has all the dispensaries, but you can’t keep telling me it’s medicine and then it’s called something like “DOCTOR DUDE’S FUN PALACE!” in Wavy Gravy font. Make it look like a legitimate place. No doctor’s office ever employed tie-dye this much. I’m fine with pot, but pot culture is the dumbest shit.

Portugal decriminalized drugs with pretty good success, but in the US we still debate whether this would be a good idea.

…McLellan does not favor a Portuguese approach for the United States. “It’s not an ideology with me,” he said. “If you make any attractive commodity available at lower cost, you will have more users. Anything like legalizing drugs is preposterous—no less ridiculous than trying to lock up every offender.” As evidence, he points to the epidemic of prescription-drug abuse. “These drugs were created, controlled, and distributed in the most careful way,” he said. “It doesn’t prevent abuse.”

I’m an advocate of putting things in your body that aren’t processed. That applies to food. It also applies here. I’m not saying you should all get high, but if you’re gonna smoke marijuana smoke the real thing.